Mine to protect
by Saphireanime
Summary: Bumblebee charging to Sam's rescue was obvious, Barricade - not so much
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Bumblebee charging to Sam's rescue was obvious, Barricade – not so much.

**A/N **The first few chapters will seem pointless, they aren't, bear with me.

"Easy," Sam held out his hands to the growling but injured German shepherd in a 'surrender' pose to show he meant no harm. "I ain't gonna hurt you," he kept his voice as level as possible so as not to startle it. The wound on it flank and across its muzzle looked serious and it needed to be patched up before it got infected or lost any more blood. Still the dog growled in a dangerous manner as he approached, it was only an animal, it was not to know he meant only help and could still bite him. "Easy," he repeated with more conviction, "I will not hurt you." The bark he got seemingly in reply seemed to be the dog telling him he agreed and Sam smiled; he knew as well as anyone else how powerful a large dog's jaws could be.

He was not going to take him to a vet, he had no way to pay for the bills and the dog had no collar so no one would come to claim him, probably, if he went to the pound, he'd be put down pretty quickly even if he was healed. No, he had learnt how to patch up Mojo ever since the vet's bills went sky high. Suddenly he got an idea and reached into his pocket where he kept little bacon pieces for Mojo whenever he was good or did a trick, they were cheaper than dog treats at any rate and probably healthier too. He dug around for a larger piece and held it in front of him enticingly, "do you want this, yummy bacon, come on now, it is ok, come on, I want to help you."

He did not get an experimental sniff, just another growl, he sounded as if he had just been insulted. "Yeah," Sam sighed, "Mojo doesn't like the baby talk much either," the dog stopped growling. Sam, barely aware of the idiocy of his actions tried a different approach: diplomacy. "Look I know that you are a big dog, and you would prefer to lick your wounds in peace, but this is serious. I don't know what happened to you, whether you got into a fight or hit by a car or something but I do know you need assistance. My house is not far and should be reachable at a sensible speed, and I am willing to help you out, now you can follow me or bleed out on the streets, it's your choice." The dog struggled to its feet and hobbled over to him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Would you just hold still," Sam grunted as the dog jerked against him when he tried to bandage the flank and the wound on his muzzle. "I am not going to be able to help you if you do not hold still, it is only for a couple more minutes, you want me to help you right?" The dog stopped and glared at him as if he had insulted him again. "Here, have some bacon," Sam said hopefully to calm the ire of the dog before him and once again the German Shepherd looked at him as if suffering some great injustice before eating the offered pieces as if… ashamed to do so? Either way, it kept him still long enough for the boy to disinfect and patch the last remaining bit of the injured flank. "There we go, now was that so hard?"

The dog whined from the pain of the iodine suggesting that yes it was, but did not snarl, did not go for him and did not run off. "You look like a stray to me, you are entirely too skinny, I guess there is no point in putting an ad in the paper. Come on, I'll get you some food," the dog listened to him with a cocked head, he seemed a lot more friendly now than an hour or so ago and followed him to the kitchen with his tail almost wagging. The jovial atmosphere lasted until the food bowl was placed in front of him and the dog gave a look which clearly said 'I'll eat it when you do.' "Mojo has never had a problem with it," Sam crossed his arms, "what did you expect, steak?"

The dog gave him a stony glare. "You know, for a stray and a guest in my house, not to mention how skinny you are, can you really afford to be so picky?" The dog did not appreciate the comment and lunged at him, scratching his knee, making Sam scowl, it did not hurt much but Sam could not help but feel he'd been dealt an injustice. "I guess it does look disgusting," Sam relented when he looked at the bowl and he reached inside the fridge for a packet of raw mince. 'It did not cost a lot,' Sam reasoned, not the smart price stuff, he could always replace it later in the afternoon when he took the dog for a walk, if he'd let him. He emptied it into a bowl, "does this suit the tastes of you highness?" The dog dug in.

Sam looked in satisfaction as the dog ate the mince with enthusiasm when he heard a sharp whine from behind him and turned around to find Mojo looking at him with puppy dog eyes. 'How come I don't get any mince?' Sam sighed again, he supposed it was unfair but he was not expecting his dog to know that. "I know Mojo, I'm sorry, but it never occurred to me to give you anything else seeming as you never has a problem with regular dog food. I gave you chicken on Christmas," he gave his terrier a scratch behind the ear. "Here," he emptied out half the bacon treats into a small mound on the floor, "you can have those instead of your food if you must, and if you are still hungry you can have that rejected monster meal over there."

Once he had finished the placating the two dogs food wise the doorbell rang and Sam frowned. He knew for a fact his parents were on holiday but it did not matter because he had his car, Optimus and the others and now these two to look after. "Mikaela," he breathed, only just stopping himself from smiling like a teenage girl when he saw her, despite the fact she was his girlfriend now and not just the girl he was trying to get. "You could not have timed wanting to see me any better, I assume that is why you are here," he stood aside to let her in and closed the door behind her. "I've been landed with another dog, he is intelligent enough and not rally vicious, but he is a big thing, with an appetite I can only afford for so long."

Mikaela wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a quick kiss, "I did come to see you," she agreed, "and surprise, surprise you need my help already." Then she laid eyes on the dog, who, with the blood of the mince dripping from his injured muzzle and curiously red eyes, looked more like a werewolf than a German shepherd. Both teens laughed nervously at the sight to disguise the fact the dog frightened them. "Oh Samuel Ronald Witwicky," Mikaela said, the sound of his full name making the teen boy think of when he was in trouble with his mother, "can you stay out of trouble for one moment when I'm not with you?" There was truth in that, but after being chased over the rooftops by the incarnate of all evil sentient robots, Sam was pretty sure he could deal with an oversized German shepherd.

"I do need your help, even if it just to walk them," Sam said, getting the leash he used to use for Mojo, who now walked by his side without it needed. "I don't know whether such a feeble thing will hold that beast, but here, we live in hope. He was injured but now he is all patched up he seems to be good, so I thought walk would be in order." He held out his hand to the new dog who came over and pressed his head into it, and Sam stroked it, earning a wag of the tail only to have to break the contact to pick up Mojo who suddenly flung himself at the larger dog. "Do have no survival instincts you stupid little thing," he hissed with no real venom as the little dog settled in his hold, "honestly, what has gotten into you."

"Dogs have no perception of size," Mikaela informed, also bending to pet the dog, which seemed to roll his eyes and put up with it. "As for what has gotten into Mojo, make no mistake, he was docile before you petted the German shepherd right, he's jealous?"

"Jealous? He isn't my girlfriend, you're my girlfriend. If he was jealous of me giving attention of wolfie here, then why does not show any sort of aggression to my parents, as he is my dog, why does he show no aggression to you?"

Mikaela shrugged, and Sam realised he'd been relying on her to be the answer to everything. "I don't know Sam, but you do show me attention which is slightly different to the attention you show Mojo, or at least, I sincerely hope so."


	3. Chapter 3

Walking the dogs actually turned out to be incredibly simple, Mojo was as good as always and the German shepherd suffered the leash being put on him and walked beside him without so much as a tug. "You know, if you are thinking of keeping this dog then you should think of a name for him, something like Damien or Sasha or Dante, all the good names begin with a D or an S, or an M of course. Oh I know, how about Vince, he's tough."

"I'm not naming him after my bully, that's just wrong, on so many levels."

"How about Barricade?" Sam levelled her with a look. "What? Barricade is a police car, German shepherds are police dogs and he is darker than most German shepherds and has red eyes a lot like their optics…"

"I am not naming him after a decepticon either."

"How about Padfoot, you know, after Harry Potter?"

"Or better yet, Sirius."

"After Harry Potter?"

"After the dog star, the brightest in the sky." Sam looked after the two dogs, paying the same amount of attention to each and feeding them tid-bits of bacon while Mikaela went to get an obscene amount of mince. The small group was just entering back at his house when the sound of beeping reached their ears and Sam perked up to the sight of Bumblebee driving into the driveway of the house. Abandoning all sanity he ran over to the car and threw himself onto the bonnet, "I've missed you buddy, it's good to see you again."

"Hello… Sam," clicked his radio in whirrs and spins as it always did, despite the fact that he had his voice back now, he was used to speaking like this. Sirius was freaked out by the arrival of Bumblebee, a car that spoke, and he was very intelligent, for a dog. He raised his hackles and started to growl and bark at the car. "New dog?"

"Yeah, found him today actually, call him Sirius, I think you scare him."

"Shall… I… go?"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, it's fine, stay, I'll put him inside for now." He put his arms around Sirius' neck and whispered to him, trying to get him to calm and eventually managed to get him to a state where he would not attack the next thing he saw that moved. He took off the leash and chased him after Mojo to have a drink and finish the monster meal he'd left, well, knowing Mojo; he would somehow manage to fit it inside him.

"Good to see you again Bee," Mikaela gave him a smile and a nod. She turned to her boyfriend, "Mojo never seemed agitated by Bee, or the others, no matter what form he was in, I mean he even he peed on one of them once didn't he?"

"Sirius seems somehow a lot smarter than your average dog."

"Maybe he was once a police dog, got injured in action and ran off."

Sam smiled, "part of that story might be the truth."

Want to… go for a spin?" Bee asked.

"I do," Sam said, "it's been too long."

"It's been three days," Mikaela reminded him, she was ignored.

"Trouble is, I am not sure I should be leaving the dogs alone, I mean Mojo would be alright, but I'm not sure about the new one, especially not alone together after Mojo went for him."

"Surely… Sirius would… be able to… defend… against the… small one."

"It is not Sirius I'm worried about Bee."

There was a moment of quiet, "bring them."

Sam turned to his best friend and smiled, "have I ever told you I love you?"


	4. Chapter 4

They went to a park, simple and sweet and a great place to let the dogs run around. Mojo did with gusto but Sirius just sat down by his side and watched the smaller one zip around with mild interest. "Don't you want to join in?" Sam asked him. The dog flicked his ear as if to say, 'why don't you?' Sam shrugged and sat down against Bee, the dog at least had gotten over his fright of the robot, enough to get in at that. Sam smirked when he saw Mojo had found a large stick and engaged in a game of tug of war with another dog three times his size, a stranger at that. Sam contemplated rescuing him but it did not seem as if either dog was showing any real aggression and the other owner, wherever they may be was clearly not bothered either.

"Mojo seems to be having the time of his life," Mikaela mentioned from his side, "do you take him here often?"

Sam shook his head, "it never crossed my mind to ask Bee before, maybe I will from now on, that is if my best bud is up for it."

"Roger that," buzzed the radio, giving the teen the affirmative.

"Should make it a weekly or biweekly thing then, possibly teach him to play Frisbee or at least bring the balls back to me instead of running off with them." He leant further back against the car when a familiar figure entered his line of vision and he straightened, "Trent," he greeted, "and Vince," he amended as the second one came into view, "what a pleasant surprise."

Mikaela got her feet and levelled them with a glare, "oh leave us alone boys, just what exactly do you want this time?"

"Stay out of it beautiful, this is between me and Witwicky," Trent growled.

"What is between you and Sam?" Mikaela sounded exhausted, Sam had to say that she had no idea; he had been dealing with this since he was eight years old.

"It's ok," Sam stepped forward and put a placating hand on her arm, "it will be ok." He bent to whisper in her ear, "if I handled Megatron, I should be able to handle these goons." She did not look happy about it, but eventually she stepped back. "I am not going to pretend I do not know what you came over for," Sam said, facing the bullies again, arms crossed over his chest, "so what are you waiting for?" He could have chosen some better words and despite how confident he was, it still bloody hurt when Vince when straight for his weak point and the blow to the stomach made him double over and gasp for air desperately.

Surprisingly it was Mojo who attempted to come to his rescue, coming out of nowhere and yapping at Vince with ferocity. Unfortunately it looked cute more than it did frightening although Vince did take a step back before drawing back his foot and kicking the little thing away, Mojo whining as he did. Sam saw red, Mojo was his dog and he was not going to let anyone hurt him, "how dare you," he growled and launched himself at the two of them. He was not aware of anything much more than landing as many punches and kicks upon the two who had been beating on him his whole childhood as he possibly could. He was strong, but eventually, two people were just better than one and a particular blow to the head sent him reeling back into Bumblebee who was whining.

He felt Bee's problem, he wanted to come to his assistance, but could not blow his cover. Mikaela could help, get inside Bee and pretend she was the one to open the doors and get them away. However she was too busy attending to a hurt Mojo who licked his wounds sorrowfully. Trent and Vince advanced on him, Vince suffering from a broken nose and Trent from a black eye. They were not smiling and Sam felt no pain except the back of his head and that was making him kind of dizzy which could only mean one thing, he was in better shape than the other two. Before either bully could take another step, a black form of dark fur and dripping canines placed itself in front of him. Sirius, like this anyway, was anything but cute.

Sirius barked twice and snarled before lunging at Vince, making him stumble back, frightened. He did the same to Trent, who let out a little shriek as he retreated. He scared them further and further back before launching, fangs extended towards Trent when Sam intervened. He was enjoying the show but if he actually bit one of them they might try and put him down. "Sirius!" He called, recalling he'd yet to give the dog an order or even get him used to his name, "down!" It did not seem to matter, surprisingly, the dog did as he was told and came back to his side and licked his hand. "Good boy," he praised, rubbing the soft fur behind his ears, "you've just earned yourself a whole packet of bacon pieces."


	5. Chapter 5

"Sam, me and the girls are going to the cinema, it's just a chick flick movie, still, do you want to come?" He and Mikaela were lounging in his garden after giving mince to the two dogs as Mojo too now refused to eat anything else. Had she asked him a month ago, Sam would already be out the door, eager to please and not wanting to let her go. Now he was more secure in the relationship he could honestly say that he hated the sound of it, though he did not say that aloud.

"Sorry, I'd love to Mikaela but Sirius has torn open the wound on his flank by chasing Mojo round the garden, I have to look after him." Sirius treated Mojo a lot like a younger brother, seeming to give him exasperated looks every time he behaved like a puppy or yipped incessantly but he never raised his hackles and snarled at him or showed any aggression. Sirius really did seem to act more like a human than a dog, he was intelligent, a very fast learner and even though he had only been part of the little family for four days, Sam really could not imagine life without him. Mojo in turn behaved like a jealous toddler with the new baby in the house. Still, they did not require much looking after considering, Sam could handle it.

Mikaela just shrugged but Sam could tell she was upset, "hey wait," he called after her, "Sirius and Mojo will be fine by themselves for a little bit, I'll take you home."

"No Sam, it is fine, the bus is not expensive." There was something final in her tone and Sam squirmed where he was uncomfortably, perhaps it would have been best to say he would see what he could do to be free.

"Yeah, but I'm your boyfriend, I don't mind, please?" He added the plea when she levelled him with a look, was missing one date that bad?

"Stay," she said as if he was the dog here. He gave her a reproachful look even so as she walked away, he felt his tail droop between his legs, why was she behaving like this.

"Did I do something bad?" He turned to Bumblebee as if he would know more on the matter than he, her boyfriend did.

"I believe… humans call…it… standing… you… up," he replied in his familiar way and he sighed.

"I guess it was a date, just a disguised one, do you think she will be the only one there without a date?" Suddenly he was worried and considered calling Miles to look after the dogs before going after Mikaela to tell her he had changed his mind. But Miles did not know the medicines or how to patch up a dog should he need it, and besides he was not good with strangers. Bumblebee flashed the headlights once which Sam assumed was the mech's equivalent to a shrug. He leant on the hood, relishing on how easy it was to be with his best friend and started to scratch the familiar super fine, soft fur behind Sirius' ears as he came up to him and pressed his head into his free hand which was hanging by his side.

Like always when he started to pay attention to Sirius and Mojo felt left out, the Chihuahua jumped onto the hood of the car leaving muddy paw prints all over it, offering his head to be scratched with a slight tilt. Bumblebee, not overly impressed with having muddy paw prints all over his hood honked the horn loudly. The tiny dog was terrified and jumped into Sam's free arm with a yip and Sam cradled him, while laughing at the reaction, thinking it may have been an overkill thing to do, Bee knew his little dog was spooked easily and he was usually nice to the mutt. Then he happened to see Bumblebee's hood and had to sympathise with the car. "Ok, that's pretty bad," he admitted, for such a small dog, he sure could get mud everywhere, "guess it's time for a wash."

Bumblebee seemed to think this was one of Sam's best ideas if the approving clicks and whirrs were anything to go by. After spending so much time with him Sam knew how to interpret the sounds that Bumblebee made. After he let the dog down, Mojo tried to slink away but Sam called him back with a whistle. "Hey, just where do you think you're going mister? You caused this mess so you are going to help clean it up, Sponge Mojo, fetch!" While Mojo obediently went to get the sponge, Sam went to fill up a bucket with warm water and soap, Sirius at his heel. When Mojo came back with the sponge, he sent him off to find the wax and polish and Sirius watched him go with his head turned, confused as to what his small compatriot was doing.

The larger seemed to get it. Sam had placed the sponge in the bucket and when he bent to divest Mojo of the bottle he had collected and reward him with bacon and petting; Sirius picked up the bucket in his powerful jaws and preceded him outside the house. Sam was suitably impressed on more than one count. He was glad Sirius was so willing to help and impressed that he caught onto things so quickly, but also that he was strong enough to lift it, seemingly without effort. While Sam washed Bumblebee, his bot making appreciative croons and whirrs and clicks to his ministrations, Mojo ran in circles and Sirius washed both he and Mojo with disinterest. It seemed to Sam he was keeping a certain distance from Bumblebee when he could help it. Mojo, the little rascal, had no such fears, or any fear at all, not always a good thing.

"We should have a road trip," Sam decided as he started to rub wax into the hood of Bee, now on the second coat. When he washed his father's car as a kid he never bothered with wax, it took absolutely forever and it was a mindless chore, Bumblebee always got two coats. "Just you and me and the other 'bots, and maybe the dogs too, it will be fun." Bee made a couple of clicks seemingly in agreement, they did not sound against it anyway, perhaps non-committal. "What do you say to a day by the sea boys," Sam said turning to the dogs, "or maybe skipping town altogether and going to another city?" Sirius barked once, an affirmative, Mojo, still running round the garden, slipped on the water, ended up flat on his back and whined pitifully.


End file.
